Just when I had shut it all out
by Pre27
Summary: All romance fantasy lovers are in for a treat with this new,original story. "Who knew that when someone said I was being myself, they were actually speaking the truth?" Sarah's life turns into chaos during an art trip physically emotionally...3chapters up


Chapter 1

"Sarah? Sarah, are you okay? Sarah?" Janey's words broke into my concentration and my mind was yanked back into reality. I opened my reluctant eyes to meet her worried ones.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine." I stuttered, my voice was unusually hoarse but I was way too afraid to even attempt calling the hostess for water, let alone drinking it. Janey still stared at me like I was an insane person. Her large, strawberry blond curls hanged wildly from her head, complementing her deep pink blouse nicely. Her gorgeous azure eyes shone vividly against her pale, white skin and stared in my direction.

"Seriously Janey, I'm fine" I assured her.

"Don't lie Sarah, have you seen yourself!" she remarked, gesturing abruptly with her hands to my own weirdly positioned body. My arms were rigidly stretched out and my fingers clawed into the arms of my seat, refusing to let go. My thighs grabbed onto each other in fear and my ankles were locked. Damn it, I must look like I just stepped out of an ice machine and worse still was the fact that I couldn't unhinge myself. My eyes moved to my right to glimpse out of the window, praying that it would bring good news. Not. Large, cottony clouds swathed the sky, hiding the view of the ground from my disappointed eyes. This meant that we still weren't close to our destination.

Janey and I were sitting next to each other in economy class and despite begging, no _pleading_ to sit by the ale, Janey refused. She said she was afraid of heights but I knew better. The guy next to her on the other side of the ale was way too good looking for her not to have noticed. But no one knew just how afraid of flying I really was and now being placed right by the window, was definitely making things worst. Especially with the fact that I had a full view of the jet engines and imagining them break or catch on fire was way too easy to keep from my incontrollable mind.

The ivory colored seats were covered in intricately designed, red cloths which matched the color of the air hostess' uniforms. The air hostesses wondered busily around the airplane, frequently checking up on other guests and driving past counters, carrying a variety of ice-creams and drinks on them, for the passengers to choose from. Unlike many of the others who took advantage of the giveaways, I could not. My stomach was too knotted and filled with anguish to handle even a little juice. My eyes slowly surveyed the scene before me. No one looked ready to leave anytime soon. Damn it.

"How much longer, Janey?" I asked, dreading the answer but I preferred to know the truth than tread in ignorance.

"I don't know really, maybe a few hours." She looked back at me, her eyes immediately flashed with excitement, "I can't believe we're going to India!" Her voice shrieked in enthusiasm. Janey, another twenty eight girls and I were going to India for our matric art trip. It was better than attending any boring museum back in Britain but at least that didn't involve flying by plane anywhere. I had already attempted to influence my headmistress and dreary art teacher that I was not able to go on this stupid trip but none of them listened. Even my mother refused to listen to my cleverly planned speech on why my "fulfilled" art knowledge did not require the addition of Indian art. Who said blood was thicker than water?

"Yeah, it's going to be fun," I said in what I hoped was a convincing and equally enthusiastic tone.

"It's a pity we have to go with Mrs. Waybrooke. She's probably the only one who knows anything about art…"

"Not that that's a lot." I interrupted. Mrs. Waybrooke was our art teacher and was the true personification of evil. Her vulture-like face was covered in pastel white skin and she made it even paler by adding tons of white powder onto it. Her silvery gray hair was always tied back into a tight bun and her scrawny, tall body hid behind dull, russet or gray colored skirts and white shirts. Her neck was always ringed in her favorite black, silk scarf which drowned in her cheap perfume, which stank of old musk and peppermint.

Why she became an art teacher is beyond my comprehension. She hated teaching and hated teenage girls especially. To her, art was purely something on paper, parchment or stone. She never shared the passion that drove every one of her students to excel in their artworks and enjoy those of legendary artists. Instead she'd mark us all down based on her "exemplary" vision and knowledge of art.

"You're right. Well at least they'll be plenty of new faces to meet…" she trailed off, gesturing blatantly with her eyes to the guy sitting next to her. Being in an all girls' boarding school from the age of seven definitely had an impact on Janey, especially on her appetite and resistance for men, not that the later really existed. She would go crazy whenever we had socials with our brother school and was one of those girls who ended up with as many numbers at the end of the evening as the number of males who attended, worked in and lived around the area where the event took place.

She was still my best friend though and I think it is our opposite natures which encouraged this relationship. Unlike Janey, I was way too afraid to even talk to a guy but that doesn't mean that I didn't have a boyfriend or two but none of them really interested me. My mother always complained and so did Janey that I was emotionally barricaded, completely oblivious to any form of sentiment. It was true that I wasn't one to feel easily for others, in fact it took such a long time for me to actually trust and love Janey as my friend but I trusted my instincts. At least I had a lot more self control than Janey.

The rows ahead of us were filled with the rest of my classmates and other random passengers. The first two rows were packed with what one would call, "The Popular Girls". They were all lathered in silk, pink, lilac and heels. They were just like the stereotypical girls from television, gorgeous, rich, had guys kneeling at the feet and absolutely no regard for anyone else, like me- which is exactly why I kept myself out of their way.

For the rest of the flight Janey replayed her ecstatic monologues of our Indian art trip from school and what could happen. She believed that this was going to be a life changing experience and I made sure to keep away from her exactly how stupid that sounded to me. Despite the fact that we were going to another country, this was just another scholarly trip. We'd visit museums, enjoy the artwork and come back to Britain for what was left of our time in that school.

I hated new places. New places meant unfamiliar ground, another chance for something to go wrong. It also meant that I had to spend more time with others and now in even closer proximity, pretending that everything was fine and having absolutely no time to myself. Perhaps that's why my mother chased me here.

I had to admit, the only thing that enthused me about this trip was the hope that it would make time pass by quickly. The quicker the time went by, the quicker school would end and the quicker I would be able to go back home to America, California in specific.

My unstable life story was way too long to discuss with anyone, not that I took any pleasure it revealing it to them anyway. Janey's boring babbling was forcing me to think about other things and my fear of flying was the favorite change of thought. But after several minutes of trying, I finally managed to fall off into a deep sleep.

When I awoke with hazy eyes, we landed on the floor. The ales were swollen with eager passengers, grabbing their bags and making their way slowly from the plane. Janey was one of them and was busy taking out my bag for me.

"Thanks." I said as I grabbed my bag and placed it around on my back. We all led out systematically through the exits into the very busy, Indian airport in Mumbai. The place was bombarded with mostly Indians from all over the world but mainly from India. My virgin ears filled with the loud chatter of many, speaking in what I assumed was Hindi. Bright colors adorned the inhabitants and the airport's walls echoed it. The women were dressed in beautiful, cultural clothing, which composed of long dresses and pants underneath it. The men wore pants and tops but they too looked very oriental. The airport's walls were plastered in floor to ceiling long paintings or posters, advertising products or showing scenic views of India. The whole scene overwhelmed me and I struggled to keep up with everyone.

Even Mrs. Waybrooke was affected, although I don't think she was pleasantly affected. Her screech still emanated through the airport despite the noise, calling us all towards her. After we retrieved the rest of our luggage, she led us all to a big bus which took us to our hotel. Janey and I were gratefully sharing a room together at "The Raj Hotel". The room had one king-sized bed in it, for us to share. Dark orange rays escaped through the window into the room, indicating the end of the day and the start of night. Janey immediately ran to bed, jumping onto the side closest to the door.

"This is my side." She cried, bouncing up and down on the bed. I'm glad her high still hasn't ended.

"Sure." I agreed, moving to place my bag on the other side of the bed. Janey quickly opened her large suitcase, retrieving a large variety of folded garments. She took them all and strategically placed them in the small sized closet, leaving hardly any room for me. But that didn't bother me, I didn't really have that many outfits anyway. When my clothes were packed away, I grabbed my cosmetic's bags and night clothes, heading for the bathroom.

"Hey, don't you want something to eat. Mrs. Waybrooke said it was okay to order in some room service." Janey was paging through the unusually long room service menu, looking intently for something new to try.

"Nah, I'm just going to shower then go to bed." And I did just that. I was way too exhausted to entertain Janey or my appetite.

The warmth of the Indian sun, hitting against my back awoke me the next morning. I heaved myself up, to rest my back against the back rest. Janey was still fast asleep and covering her side table was a plate spread scarcely with a reddish looking sauce. Well, at least someone was enjoying the local cuisine.

I jumped off the bed, feeling uncharacteristically alert. The closet's doors stood slightly ajar. I opened them further and grabbed a pair of faded jeans and one of my favorite white tops. It was short sleeved and had lace embellishments all over it. I know, why bother wearing one of my fanciest tops, not that it compared with any of Janey's, if we were just going to the museum. Well, apart from another brown halter neck, this was the only summer top I had. Shopping for summer clothes was useless when you spent most of the year in a place sheltered by constant cloud coverage and soaked in frequent downpours.

I strolled into the bathroom and pulled off my pajamas. After I finished change, I combed my hair through, straightening out any knots. By the time I finished, Janey was up.

"Hah-hi," she yawned. "Is everyone up already?" she asked, her face stung with panic, bulging her sapphire eyes out.

"Don't worry. You still have about two hours," I pacified her. She smiled with relief than ran to the closet, searching eagerly for the most eye catching outfit she had.

"You know, you won't find many guys our age in a museum." I informed her, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I know but who says they had to be _our_ age!" She teased, holding up a short black mini with a yolk colored boob –tube.

"No, way! Mrs. Waybrooke will have a heart attack and so will everyone else in the museum. Perhaps you should try something a little more discrete." She frowned childishly and continued to ramble through the closet.

"You know Sarah, I'm sure I have something in here for you, in case you want to meet your Bollywood prince," she teased, giggling into the closet.

"Ha Ha, very funny. I think we'll stick to you for the moment. Hey, by the way, what happened to Robert?"

"Oh! No, he was such a bore! I mean is it too much to ask for a kiss on the first date and he kept going on about his parents who were somehow related to the royal family…"

"I thought you liked them rich."

"Rich, yes but Mommy's boy definitely not! He'd make me go mental if I stayed any longer with him…Blimey! This! How's this." She held up a stunning, red dress which was long enough to suggest you weren't a slut but short enough to keep the guys wondering. The sun's rays swam like waves on the dress as Janey's excited hands shook it.

"That's the one." I agreed.

After another hour, Janey was finally ready and we made our way downstairs to the buffet breakfast. The room was large and circular. It was tiled in white and black diagonal tiles and the walls were cream colored. The wall directly in front of us was made of a thick, transparent glass, allowing the magnificent garden outside to welcome us all with its beauty. Lining the eastern wall were tables covered in a variety of things. One was swathed in jars containing different colored juices. Another had a large platter of fruit-banana's, pineapples, granadilla, peaches, coconuts and many more. The next few tables were supporting large, glistening brass containers of food. Some I realized were carrying some normal favorites like bacon, eggs, sausages but the rest were filled with curries, a sweet, Indian pancake called _dosa _and other things I didn't recognize but I knew was Indian.

Not being one to try new things, I kept to the normal. I filled my plate with fluffy, scrambled eggs, a few strips of crispy bacon and a sumptuous sausage. Missing supper last night definitely made me ravenous this morning but I managed to eat slowly and dainty, just like any respectable student of a British boarding school _should_ act.

Mrs. Waybrooke discussed with us our agenda for the day, after breakfast. We were going to see the "Niraj Chamda Museum", apparently it was filled with paintings, sculptures and artwork from ancient, Indian times. I'd seen many different types of artwork from that period in art books and on the internet whenever I was busy doing research, so I knew that it was definitely going to be a worthwhile trip. Both Janey and I rushed upstairs to grab our back packs, while the rest of the students moved to the front entrance, where large, white taxi's greeted them.

When we finally reached downstairs, we rushed outside. The heat immediately bathed our skins, and the bright Indian, sun stung our fragile eyes. The streets were alive with activity, swamped with people, some carrying full baskets on their heads, others were selling jewelry or fresh vegetables on the side of the road and others were carving sculptures out of rock right before your eyes. The scene was overwhelming and so was the busy road. Janey too was mesmerized by the view but our little maharaja didn't last that long.

Mrs. Waybrooke was staring at us vilely, holding open the passenger door of a crammed white kombi.

"Where have you two been?" she wailed. Her skinny, gray eyebrows knitted together and she watched us angrily.

"Sorry Miss, we just went to get our bags," explained Janey.

"Well as you can see there is no space for you, you'll will have to take a tuk-tuk **CHECK **."

"A what…", interjected Janey. Her face was plastered with confusion but I already had a feeling what a tuk-tuk was.

Standing right behind the white kombi was a strange looking vehicle. It was black with a wide, yellow band painted around the bottom of the motor. It looked almost like a capsule, except it wasn't fully closed, actually it wasn't closed at all. It had absolutely no doors! The whole thing was supported by only three wheels, one in the front and two in the back, reminding me of the tripod stands we used in chemistry. The driver sat in the front, hunched primitively over the steering wheel and the passenger seats were in the back. The only thing that kept you in were two large poles that stood on either side of the car, which you were meant to hold onto for dear life.

"Hurry up, Miss. Orchard and Miss. Abott, we don't have the whole day to wait for you."She jerked her scrawny finger towards the vehicle, demanding we enter it. I went in first, to sit on the far right side. The seats were adorned in Indian dollies and the front and back windows were ordained in thin, flower garlands. How on Earth was he supposed to see where he was going with those in the way?

The tiny engine started with a roar, startling Janey. He took off immediately, rushing through the crowded streets. He weaved in between the other cars and buses, barely even stopping at the red robot. I was right, the poles on the side were to hold on to for dear life and we did just that. Both my hands seized the black pole with such force that my nails bit deeply into my palms. Strands of hair whipped against my frail face, as my eyes struggled to stay open. The cold air was refreshing against my hot skin but it was easily forgotten when thoughts of my death at the hands of a reckless driver riveted through my head.

He swerved left into a street drenched in commuters. Instead of slowing down, he urged the motor forward, stinging the street with the loud screeches of his horn. My hand banged against something soft and I automatically turned my head to see what I'd just hit. It was an Indian lady, she was thankfully not hurt but her straw, weaved basket was desecrated on the road.

"Sorry!" I yelled, hoping she would realize that I really didn't do that on purpose and that she also understood what I'd just said.

"What are you saying sorry for? If they don't want to be hit, they mustn't walk on the road." The driver's harsh voice held a strong Indian accent and his driving echoed his ballistic outburst. He hooted madly at the people on the road and blatantly refused to move his vehicle out of anyone's way, even if it meant injuring one of them. My eyes searched desperately for one of the white kombi's but there was no sign of any of them.

He spun the car right and Janey's back swung towards me, hitting me solidly on my back. My eyes met hers and I could tell that she too was thinking the same thing…WE'RE GONNA DIE! After several sharp turns, enraged outbursts and violent hooting, the tuk-tuk came to an abrupt stop. I immediately jumped out of the motor, stumbling slightly to the sidewalk. My head rushed with blood and my eyes were hazed. After several seconds of a spinning scene, my eyes focused. Janey was at my side, gasping in large bouts of the air. The tuk-tuk driver was counting colored notes, which I assumed was money. He smiled in satisfaction as he finished, then jumped back in and raced back intimidating the road ahead. Most of our class was already inside the museum but a few were just entering. Janey and I rushed to join them, too dazed to complain about our terrifying encounter with India's most popular form of transport.

"Sarah Orchard. SARAH ORCHARD!", Mrs. Waybrooke screeched, honestly how she was able to actually snag a man is beyond my comprehension. Her face looked even more vulture-like, especially now that it stood in front of an ancient, Indian feathered crown. She stared piercingly into my eyes and I immediately answered her, desperate to break her stare.

"Present.", I assured her, as if seeing me wasn't enough. The rest of the class stared back at me. Don't get me wrong, some of them are nice and their accents are entertaining but my attempts to be invisible were only made that much harder every time my American accent echoed through the room. As our dreary art teacher took us around the museum, refusing to use a guide, I escaped her group of cohorts. It would be much more interesting to discover India's artistic history through my own eyes, instead of through her tarnished ones.

Elaborately adorned fabrics hung in long sheets against the grainy, russet colored walls. Beautiful colors of crimson, ginger and cobalt blue awaked the dull hall as I wandered aimlessly around. The sound of my soft footsteps against the glossy, pallid floor whispered in the room. I was entirely alone, not even a guard was in sight. I inhaled deeply and smiled appreciatively, for me loneliness was not a dreaded monster from which I was eager to escape. It was actually a close companion whose company I enjoyed; no pretending to be fine nor trying to be someone you're not. It was easy to admire the aged carved stones, exquisitely detailed into images of beautiful women, warriors or animals, when no one was around to mock you. I stared adoringly at all the pieces as I wondered lightly about India's colorful past. A time filled with princes and princesses, kingdoms and embellished outfits. It was easy to envy them and their almost fantasy-like history.

In the center of the hall were glass caskets filled with lost treasures, either from wrecked ships or vacant castles. Long, sturdy, sharp swords glinted in the spotlight surrounded by dazzling gold trinkets studded with glistening rubies, sapphires and diamonds. My pale right hand graced the cool glass and I felt the same way you do as a child seeing a puppy for the first time; so eager to touch it, so fervent to possess it. I walked slowly around the island, dragging my feet until I caught the sight of my reflection in one of the glass cases which stretched to conceal a long, coal colored stone, carved so finely with Hindi writing that it was barely noticeable. I stared at my long, wavy brown hair which failed to look as elegant as that of Hawaiian, swimsuit models. My pale, ivory skin shone against the dark backdrop and my chocolate eyes stared disappointingly back at me. I had always been thin but not even that seem to make my faded jeans and white top look flattering. I giggled lightly as my eyes drifted to my raincoat, I didn't even realize I'd put it on. It was scorching at the moment but staying in Britain made wearing a raincoat second nature for me and seeing as my memory was not very reliable, carrying it wasn't a favorable choice either.

My mother always teased or rather criticized me for my forgetfulness. All the times I lost something; money, handbags and even a brand new cell phone after only two weeks aggravated her. The amazing thing was that no matter how many times I lost something, I still felt this absolute certainty that the next time it would be different and like always it ended up poorly. My mother on the other hand was very responsible. She was the organized types with her silvery, blond hair meticulously straight and her life in her diary. I swear she could never live without that thing. Every hour of her life was planned out in that book and she made sure that she followed it to the tee.

The refrigerator was filled with color coordinated labels for the different types of food and times to eat them. She had her entire diet mapped out on the refrigerator door- snack times, tea time, vegetable, fish. Even her clothes were hung in the order she'd wear them during the week and she never forgot anything, which was good except when it came to remembering parents' evening. This was second nature to her and that is why she found it hard to understand me and my inability to remember anything. She was _so _different to me; I guess that's why we got along so well. Despite her obsessive compulsive disorder she was very in touch with her feelings, despite stereotypes and I, the creative artist, found it too difficult to express my emotions and so I chose not to in most cases.

On the side of my right eye I had a black beauty spot, the only feature of my face which I favored. It was identical to that of my father's. It made me feel as if I belonged to even a small part of this world and always seemed to remind me of the last time I saw… My stomach tinged, aching with pain and I forced my attention on the small inscriptions on the carved stone.

Hindi writing is so beautiful, all the dots, curves and twirls in the writing. Of course it was impossible for me to pronounce any of it, seeing as it didn't consist of English letters but it was absolutely fascinating to gaze at. I wondered about how diligent one would have to be to pull off such a piece of work. The most effort I ever put into something was my prelims' art piece and even that isn't as beautiful as this. I had reached another wide passageway and my eyes instantly caught the sight of a cherry light scattered against the pearly floor of the passage. My feet sauntered inquisitively towards the light which was coming from a small room; well at least it _was _small when compared to the other rooms.

The ruby light embraced the room with a mysterious and eerie atmosphere, pulling me forward in awe. My eyes immediately caught sight of the large painting of an exquisite Indian princess. Her long, velvety hair framed her delicate yet striking face. She looked so graceful even though she was motionless. Adorning her forehead was a deep rose colored dot. Resting delicately above it was a small emerald, secured tightly in a golden casing; which all hung lightly from her hair. She looked coyly to the side, enhancing her feminine features. Her gorgeous smile awaked her face with an alluring glow as her long, dark eyelashes locked her eyes from sight. It was hard to describe how or why but looking at her, made me feel this weird sense of belonging, a peculiar familiarity.

I wanted desperately to know more about her but I was too mesmerized to tear my eyes away from her image. My eager eyes traced her body, or rather her head till her waist, (the only part shown in the painting, despite its size). Dangling from her ears were long, gold earrings, consisting of smaller chains of colorful jewels. These gently caressed her caramel neck, making her look absolutely heavenly. Embracing her neck was a beautiful necklace, from which hung a gorgeous auburn colored stone.

I staggered closer to the painting, desperate to make out the intricate detailing on the necklace. My eyebrows curled up slowly, illustrating my frustration. No matter how close I got to the painting, (my nose lightly graced the thin, transparent casing), the necklace was still out of focus. The detailing which I was sure would have been beautiful was hard to make out despite every other aspect of the painting being meticulous. I gradually retreated, rotating my head to survey the entire room.

The rest of the walls consisted of a mixture of different colored rocks ranging from ashy grays to pale taupe. Besides the wall from which the painting hung, all were naked except for another wall on the right side covered entirely by an aged, granite double door. It was a deep blue color. Carved deeply into the stone were images of muscular tigers, wild plants and a large castle. These images were all bordered with one solid frame of jewels, all varying in sizes and colors- cerulean, crimson, ginger, jade and topaz. I wondered who these doors belonged to and more importantly, what they opened to.

From the corner of my eye I saw someone march quickly into the room. I turned sheepishly to stare at him. It was an Indian museum guard. His face was overwhelmed by a thick, bushy mustache which curled animatedly at the ends, making his mouth look as if in a permanent smile. I looked closely at his dark chocolate skin, worried that he would explode at any moment and tow me back to the harsh realms of Mrs. Waybrooke. Which is why I was utterly shocked when I saw a distinct smile whip across his face. I stared dumbfounded at him, afraid to make any movement or break the piercing silence that was only interrupted by his thunderous footsteps.

"So, I see you've noticed the painting of Princess Rani. Do you know about the mystery yet?", he inquired brightly. His Indian accent reverberated through the room and made his offer even more thrilling. I could see the enthusiasm in his eyes as if he had waited a long time to tell this story and was finally happy to find someone who'd listen. I gazed back happily at him, excited that I was finally able to learn more about the gorgeous Princess Rani, who I'm guessing was the stunning women in the painting.

"There's a mystery?" I asked, eager to know more. My body was no longer frozen to the spot but was now leaning closer to the guard. His face was alit in satisfaction. He roughly thrust up his pants, pulling it at the belt and sucked his hefty belly in as much as possible.

"Well you see Princess Rani lived in the 1600's. She was one of two daughters to the great King Rama. As you can see, she was well known for her rare beauty and captivating presence. But besides that, she was synonymous for her kind heart and great people skills. She could get anything from someone with her demanding charisma but she never misused this talent. Her sister, Savitri was much unlike her. She was more quiet and would stay to herself but that didn't mean that they was anything wrong with her. She too was kind and friendly to others but there is very little written about her in comparison to her remarkable sibling. Anyway, King Rama was growing old and news spread that one of the princesses were going to take over the kingdom. Naturally everyone knew it would be Rani, not only was she the better leader but she was also older. But royal legislature stated that a princess could only take over the throne after her marriage with a royal equal."

"So that's where the problem came in. She didn't want to have an arranged marriage," I intrigued. His face flickered with amusement and he continued with a more dramatic story telling voice, probably satisfied that his story was well received by me.

"Not exactly. The princess had already been coveted by the charming Prince Raja and unlike most royal relationships, this one really was successful. The two of them were inseparable. They understood parts of the other that others didn't and they both helped the other with the pressure of being the child of a royal elder. I think that both of them already knew they were going to marry the other, not because it was regally favored but because neither could live without the other. So Raja didn't hesitate to propose to Rani when he got approval from the king. The astronomers were called in, to specify the auspicious dates and times for the marriage and coronation. They spent the entire day, searching for a way out or a different solution but the stars were adamant. The marriage date was to be fixed three days after the inauguration, there was no other way."

"Was that the problem?" I interrupted again, unable to stop myself. I realized that I had unconsciously tottered forward, tranced in my curiosity. His folded, branch-like arms sat comfortably on his protruding belly and he shook his head, exaggerating a frown.

"No, that's not it. There was a lot of controversy around the matter but nothing too disruptive, after all it only meant that Rani would be an unmarried queen for three days. The night before the coronation Rani was graced with the presence of the divine goddess of wealth and fortune, Laxmi Devi. It was very unusual for a goddess to personally meet a human and so everyone, especially Rani was taken aback when she arrived. The goddess proclaimed her happiness that Rani would rule our kingdom and then gave her a beautiful necklace. It was the most striking piece of jewelry to ever be seen in the whole life of India."

"Is it that one?" I pointed with my finger to the one in the painting, and he smiled in agreement.

"Yes." He moved his hand to my shoulder and led me to the far left of the room. Standing on a chunky, smoothened piece of coal colored, granite was the actual necklace. It was a great complement to Rani's beauty that I was so distracted I hadn't even noticed its presence. It hung gracefully from a golden stand. All the jewels glinted mesmerizingly in the cherry glow from the lights. The painting didn't do it any justice.

"This is it."

"It's gorgeous," I awed, unable to take my eyes of it. It really did seem like a gift from the heavens, so surreal and exotic. The guard coughed purposefully louder to regain my lost attention.

"Well, moving on. Err, that was the night before the princess' inauguration. The next morning the princess' royal servants were shocked to find a completely empty chamber. The princess was gone but none of her clothes or personal possessions were missing. The king immediately sent his guards out to search for her and shortly after the mayhem from the morning; they realized that Savitri too was missing. After weeks and weeks of searching, the king finally gave up. The citizens were in mourning. Many assumed that the princesses had died, others suggested that they ran away together because Rani didn't want to govern Gahana…"

"Gahana?"

"Oh, I forgot. Gahana was the name of the kingdom they ruled. It means jewel in Hindi, which is quite appropriate. Many describe that place as beauty incarnated into nature, stone and people." His eyes swam with admiration as he described the kingdom. He finally realized that he had moved off topic _again_.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, well dead or alive the princesses were no longer present in the kingdom and could therefore not relieve the king of his duties. And he was deeply troubled. The death of his wife due to child birth and then the loss of his two daughters enraptured the king in a constant feeling of emptiness. He no longer ached to solve the problems of his people and no fire burnt through his lifeless actions or speeches. Later he died in his sleep and his brother took over."

"So no one knows what happened to the princesses?" I repeated.

"No one knows and that's not the only mystery. No one knows where Gahana is either?"

"Well, maybe it's one of the existing places. I mean it could have been, um, Mumbai?" I optimistically suggested.

"Yes, you could be right…" His voice lost its passion as he layered it with disappointment. "It would be a shame though. None of the places known in India truly envisions the splendor of Gahana, of course I have only read of it in a very limited supply of books but I doubt that Gahana is right under our noses."

Someone moving in the open passageway behind the guard caught my eyes, it was another museum guard. His stick-like body was well air conditioned in his over spacious uniform. As soon as his eyes caught us, he smiled mischievously. He walked lazily towards us then spoke casually in Hindi to the other guard. It seemed like something he shouldn't have been saying in front of a visitor but then I was certain that he took great comfort in my ignorance.

My flamboyant story teller nodded at me with a warm smile before he left with the other guard. My ears waited impatiently for silence. When I no longer heard their footsteps, my impetuous feet ambled forward to where the gleaming necklace stood. Its allure was unbearable and my greedy fingers fidgeted addict-like at my sides. The light soared through freely over the ocher stone, enhancing its cherubic nature. Realization prompted me, there was no glass casing surrounding the necklace, no visible jets from which invisible laser beams could protrude and no saintly eyes protecting it.

My hungry fingers danced feverishly to seize the necklace. The icy surface shocked my fingertips but I continued to reach forward. I unclipped the clasp and gently placed the necklace around my nervous neck. Without even seeing it on me, I knew it would look ravishing. This was one of those rare trinkets that looked great on everyone. I searched fervently for a mirror or any piece of reflective glass that could brighten my day. To my surprise I got just that, a mirror.

On the wall right next to the entrance, hung a great, circular mirror, girdled in a thick golden frame. The frame was elaborately designed with traditional, Indian patterns and studded with jewels in a similar style as that on the azure doors. I rushed forward until only my face down to my clavicles were visible in the screen.

It was a perfect fit. The resplendent necklace looked surprisingly enhanced when it was resting against my pallid skin. My eyes caught sight of the detailing the painters had aggravatingly left out. It was a long phrase, written out in the English alphabet. That was unexpected. Did they even know English back then? But despite the English letters, the actual language was not English, nor any other language I'd heard of before.

I pressed myself forward, against the mirror so that could get a better look.

"Refa ton eth yor journe aedah "

The dark butterscotch of the central stone burst into a bright honey light, arresting my eyes from the mirror. The necklace embraced my neck tightly, triggering the flow of panic throughout me. What have I done? How on earth am I going to get this darn thing off before a guard sees me?

Several seconds later, the light simmered and the necklace loosened its hold. Thank God! My timid fingers quickly opened the clasp and I took the necklace off. Before turning around to put it back, my wondering eyes swam passed the mirror. I stop and spun my neck so quickly that it gave me one of those searing neck pains. But that pain was muted by the shock that was fuming through me. The image before my eyes was…

Chapter 2

The image before my eyes was stunning, brighter and _from another time_! The mirror reflected a background that was very much different from that in the museum. The aged walls were roughly textured with a deep, creamy beige color. My eyes caught the sight of light glinting off something lower down. It was a golden basin, an actual golden basin. The impulsive me wanted to spin around to make sure that what I was seeing was true, almost certain that this was a maharaja. But the rest of me was too afraid that by turning around the world that was cast onto the mirror would materialize before me. My timid hand reached out to touch the amber shield of the mirror and I watched as my reflected self reached her hand out toward mine, until they both touched. The screen was warm against my fingertips but not in a good way. Everything at the museum was cold.

I rotated my body slowly around, keeping my hand on the mirror. My head was the last to turn and my eyes saw the same image. The walls were lined in regular candle holders carved from silvery black metal and filled with half melted white candles. At the eastern side of the room was a large, bottomless tub, carved from striking white marble. Stone shelves protruding from the wall hugged the edge of the tub. Standing on top of the shelves were large, brass bowls filled with dark, crimson rose petals, oval shaped soaps and a deep orange powder. The floor was paved in a multihued of different colored pebbles- lavender, pale gray, terra-cotta green, golden brown and ash.

It stretched out to the doorway which led to another room. The floor of which was tiled in an emerald sheen. My feet stumbled forward into the next room but I kept my eyes on the floor. The middle of the floor was caressed in a large pattern which looked like a sun. The sun was colored in an inky blue and gold colored lines twirled and knotted together like ropes against it. The edges were thick and triangular, forming the rays of the sun, and painted in white. It had black, floral detailing swirling through it, contrasting strongly against the white.

The ground was so appetizing that my hungry eyes flew up to survey the room. The walls echoed the beige from the bathroom but their lower half was bannered in a mosaic of silvery green and gold tiles. Small little, open, "cabinets" caved into the wall and housed a variety of things. Thick, solid candles, brass goblets and other things I couldn't recognize. The room was overwhelmed with a gloriously, large bed which covered most of the western wall. It was swathed in a silky, plum cloth which stretched out into gold when it draped over the bed. The backrest was shaped like the opened feathers of a peacock, gleaming in the same gold and violet from the bed. Hanging above the bed was a large, antique chandelier. One wide, cream colored sheet draped lightly from the chandelier to rest against the wall behind the bed and two others stretched down to hang against the side walls. They were easy to reach by hand in order to add privacy to the bed's occupants.

I stared at my surroundings in awe, half because of its beauty and half because it was still _not_ the museum and I didn't know where the hell I was. My brief trance was shattered by the shrilling sound of horns that resonated from outside. Panic rushed to sting my adrenalin rich blood and I instinctively hurdled out of the door at the other end of the room. I didn't know what the sirens were for or where they came from but they were definitely signaling that something was wrong. And some part of my body was drenched in guilt and fear, propelling me forward. The door opened to a stairway.

The stairway spiraled down, making me get dizzy as I rushed down. When my feet hit the ground they sprinted forward without hesitating. Despite my fully alert body, the rest of me was numbed. My mind was in utter shock and utterly devoid of any rational explanation of what was happening to me.

Marble, brass and different colored sheets flashed across the edge of my eyes as I darted forward. Ahead of me, I noticed trees and thick, long wafts of grass, good enough to hide in. I just needed to get there without anyone noticing. My eyes clung to that image and my heart twanged with growing relief as I got closer. Suddenly my image tarnished and I felt something hard hit into me.

I looked down. It was a small, Indian girl and her eyes widened with shock as they took the sight of me in. I saw them flicker from my neck to my face then back again. My body was no longer quick moving. Instead it stood, cemented to the floor. My hands trembled madly at my sides and my eyes stuck on her, refusing to blink. Her eyes darted to something behind me, then she grabbed my hand and led me quickly outside. Instead of running into the grass like I previously planned, she swung me against the side of the building's wall and yanked me down. We laid with our stomachs against the floor, underneath the platform that supported the entrance to the building.

"Don't worry, you're safe here." Her voice was soft and warm. It had a sweet, high pitch to it but I couldn't respond to her. My heart was hammering my chest and I realized that I was breathing heavily. My eyes still swam across the scene in front of me. It was the entrance to the building and the most of what I could see was about six inches from the ground. It was empty…for now.

"Don't worry. You didn't steal anything," she stated, which made me question whether she thought I actually did steal something. "They only sounded the imposter alarm, soon they'll realize that it was nothing and they'll go back to their posts. The general is a little paranoid and the king's way too lenient with him, so this happens often."

General…King. What was she talking about? She continued speaking in casual whispers as if nothing was wrong but my mind was so hazed that I didn't even attempt to listen to her. She abruptly stopped talking and stared forward. I mimicked her. Several feet covered in leather shoes faced me. They were unusual shoes, which curled up by the toes but I had a feeling that they belonged to the guards by the systematic way they gathered. A man's voice yelled something to all of them in a commanding tone and then they dispersed.

The girl sighed then turned her head to face me.

"They're gone. We can go now." I didn't move at all, I just stared at her. Who was this weird girl talking to me and why was she helping me? She reached out her wheat colored hand towards me. She slowly touched my shoulder and rubbed it soothingly.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you. My name is Priya." She ensured me and I felt like a wounded dog a young girl was trying to patch up.

"W-where am I?" I stammered with a broken voice. Her face plastered with confusion as she looked at me but she continued, assuming that I was in shock.

"We're in Gahana. This is the castle and I'm going to take you home." She spoke purposefully slowly, as if I was mentally disabled. Then her words registered in my mind and I shot my head up, bashing it against the stone surface above. Heat surged through my head, followed by pain. I rubbed my hand back and forth against it. When I opened my eyes, the girl was out from under the platform and held her hand out to me. I took it, glad to leave our hiding.

"We're where!" I blurted, desperately wishing that I had heard wrong before.

"In Gahana, you know India's jewel." My head spun as reality and rationality feuded in my mind. Gahana was a lost city for ages, the guard himself told me they'd been searching for it for many years. How on earth could I really be in Gahana? I turned my head to stare at the building I'd just been in. It was a castle and worst still was the fact that it looked exactly like the broken down castles in India, that were used as tourism sites, except this one was a lot bigger and definitely not broken down. The solid walls were a pale, brick red color and were lined with several rectangular openings which acted as windows. At the very top stood large towers, capped in Indian designed domes. I turned my attention back to the little girl.

She was wheat colored with long wavy black hair that reached her lower back. She was about fourteen years old and had hazel colored eyes. She was a little shorter than me and wore a simple white, traditional outfit. It was like the ones I'd seen before, the dress and pants and although it was plain it looked very beautiful on her. She was staring anxiously back at me, probably wondering what I was thinking.

"What year is it?" I know it was stupid but the movie fanatic in me needed reassurance that I wasn't in a travelled-back-in-time experience.

"It's 2009."

"Are you sure?"

"Hey the guys in here are obsessed with time, which date is auspicious, what time you must pray, when you must be asleep. I think we know what year it is." She answered, gesturing with her hands to the castle. "Why? What's wrong?" I knew what I was about to tell her was absurd, especially to me but I had to find a way out, though a part of me was wishing frantically that my head was still dizzy from that taxi drive. I told her exactly what happened to me from the museum, right up to just now. My hand clung to the necklace as I spoke, praying that she would believe me.

"W-O-W", she dragged. "What are we going to do?" I was completely blank but a part of me fluttered with hope and happiness when I heard her say "we". I enjoyed being alone but this was definitely not one of those moments.

"I know, I'll take you to bhayia, he'll know what to do." She grabbed my hand like before and led me around the castle. She seemed to know exactly where she was going and was familiar to this place. She led me up a stony pathway, under tree's low hanging branches and along a thin stream until we finally stopped. We were at what seemed like the back of the castle, several people were there. Some were hanging up brightly colored clothes in the warm sunshine, others were eating fruit and some were huddled around playing a game.

"You stay here and I'll go get him," she said nervously and then headed towards two guys that were standing against the wall talking. She ran up to the guy on the left who stopped talking to smile at her as she approached. He bent down so that he could listen to her frantic whispers and the smile left his face. Suspicion replaced it. His eyes flickered from hers to mine. Even in the distance I noticed his unwelcoming glare. He gently took Priya's hand in his, said something over his shoulder to the other guy then marched over to where I was standing.

My heart accelerated with fear with every step he took. When he reached us, his hand immediately pushed Priya slightly behind him as if he were protecting her…from me.

"What did you tell my sister?" His voice was cold and harsh. I immediately regretted trusting Priya. Why did she have to tell this guy anything? His eyes seethed with a burning hostility, to which my legs reacted instinctively. They rushed backwards away from them. But instead of running away quickly before any of them could do anything to me, my right leg got trapped under the uprooted root of a tree sending me flying backwards onto the ground.

My nose filled with the strong, heavenly scent of Jasmine but my head was thumping with pain- another thing that felt too real for this to be an illusion. I opened my eyes, realizing rather absently that I'd just fallen through a bush filled with Jasmine blossoms. Priya rushed towards me and helped me up.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was filled with a genuine worry. I ran my fingers through my hair, retrieving all the flowers but my mind was still distracted, or rather concentrated on something far more fearful than silly flowers. His daunting footsteps bullied the ground as he stalked over it, approaching closer. But being the coward I am, my eyes fearfully clung to the ground, refusing to meet that terribly frightening face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look, um, I'm just going to go away. I'm sorry I, err, troubled you." I said hastily, praying they'd leave me alone. At least in America one could depend on the fact that no one bothered to worry you, if you could offer them nothing more than inconvenience. Keeping my eyes down despite the urgent need, the primal instinct to keep all attention on my attacker, I turned away intending on moving rather forcefully back to the place I'd entered this damned fabrication and returning at least in some form- dizzy or sleeping- back to the world I knew, however flawed it may be.

But just as my body agreed with my mind and started to twist around, something strong seized my wrist and just as quickly released it. But that was not what swung my eyes anxiously and more, curiously, to my wrist…

Looking down at my pale skinned wrist it was hard to imagine what I'd just felt, especially since there was not even the faintest sign of redness, no indication that what I had felt, though unlikely, was in any way possible. There was no way that, that someone could have…

_Electrocuted_ me. It had felt as if someone had injected an electric current into my wrist. Instead of travelling the length of my arm though it clung, mancle-like around my wrist. My left hand moved over gingerly to massage that spot, half soothing, half testing what I'd just felt. Given what had occurred in the last hour, whose to say this too wasn't part of this absurdly realistic dream.

But though Priya was staring cluelessly back at me, the guy next to her was no longer glaring at me. His attention was focused instead on his right palm, tracing it tentatively, before his rigid gaze fell back on me, his hostility heightening.

"You're not going anywhere. The princess is going to want to know what happened to her necklace." He pointed to the object girdling my neck. He leant over towards me in an intimidating manner making small surges of fear rush through my blood. But instead of keeping quiet like I normally did, I…

"What? I didn't steal this! Seriously, Priya didn't you explain anything to him." Not only did my words surprise me but my tone. My voice was oddly strong and drenched in confidence that given the darkness in his eyes was not necessarily a good idea.

"I did. He just doesn't believe me," Priya muttered.

"What, do you seriously expect me to believe that, that you got it from some museum and came here! Please! I'm not as gullible as my sister." His voice was cold and his stare was penetrating. Off course he wouldn't believe it, even I can't believe it. I wanted to say something now, to defend myself. Something about him instigated a defiant part of me, a side that badly wanted to break his condescending attitude. But instead I was speechless, my lips parted, wanting desperately to voice something but only silence trickled out.

His attention was diverted to Priya, who pulled him to the side to persuade him. At least that's what I think she was doing. Both of them were talking animatedly in Hindi but I could tell that Priya wasn't winning. His head kept shaking fervently in disagreement with her but she was persistent. Eventually he surrendered and Priya smiled in satisfaction before rushing over to me.

"I've convinced bhayia to take you to see our Dadi. I think she'll be able to help, she's never failed us yet and besides me, she's probably the only other person who's gonna believe you." She admitted, grabbing my hand and tugging me in the direction of the already walking fiend. Somehow my feet followed her without thought, my hand gripped onto her tiny fingers almost desperately, the first signs of the inner storm that was threatening to break.

We walked deeper into the jungle, finally reaching a cobble stoned road. The odious guide stopped abruptly and turned. He reached out his hand to Priya who loyally ran to grab it but kept his eyes on me. It was the first time that I actually looked at him, before I was so afraid that all I noticed was his rage and my fear. But now that he stood in front of me, staring at me just like I was at him, I realized just how, how, um, well…_structured_ he was.

His body was coated in honey brown skin which stretched over his firm, lean, muscular body. He was tall and had short perfectly ruffled black hair. His strong jaw line and sharp angular cheekbones lent an almost feral look to his face. Smoldering eyes were sheltered beneath dark, solid eyebrows. But my eyes caught onto and stuck to his eyes. They were the most striking feature on his entire body.

His eyes were a dark turquoise color and were scattered with chocolate brown shavings towards his dark pupil. I'd never seen anyone with such exotic eyes before but they suited him well, complementing his honey skin tone and onyx hair beautifully. My mind drowned in his beauty, unable to think about anything else, not even about what was happening to me. But his eyes left mine dismissively, releasing their hold on me. He gently unwrapped the long scarf from Priya's neck and threw it to me.

"Tell her to cover the necklace, I don't want anyone to think we're helping this thief." He spoke to Priya but I knew that he was actually speaking callously to me. I quickly wrapped the scarf around my neck like it was around Priya's, making sure to hide the necklace underneath it. We started walking on the stoned pathway which, thankfully, wasn't that busy. But everytime we did pass someone, he'd purposefully pull Priya closer to him, and further from me, making it visually clear that they were in no way connected to me. He regularly turned to spy on me, probably making sure I hadn't decided to run away. Talk about being paranoid.

"Hey, what's your name?", Priya asked cheerfully. She was still walking forward but turned her head to look at me. She seemed unusually happy to have met someone new but then I never did meet a child that wasn't.

"Err, It's, um, Sarah, Sarah Orchard." I stammered. She smiled instantly.

"Well you already know, I'm Priya. This is…"

"Bhayia." I stated. She kept calling him that, it was pretty obvious but she immediately started giggling and turned her head to look at the guy beside her. His lips were curled slightly on the side and I swear I heard him chuckle. In fact, I was positive. His voice was coated in amusement and it sounded refreshing in comparison to the harshness that had previously rented it.

"What?" I asked, self consciousness trickling into my voice.

"B-Bhayia means brother in Hindi. This is Rahul, my big brother." Heat rushed to fill my cheeks as I blushed deeply. Stupid. He glimpsed at me quickly and I caught him smiling brilliantly but its warmth was diffused by the icy glare that still clung to his eyes.

We continued walking forward. The road was getting busier now. More people were walking in the same direction and fewer in the opposing direction. They were all wearing similar outfits to Priya's but they were different from those I saw on the locals in Mumbai. They seemed more similar to those I'd seen in the paintings in the museum, more aged than modern. Their pants were flowing rather than tight around the calf like skinny jeans, like the ones I'd seen on most young women in India. But it still looked beautiful, still rich in color and design.

"Who are we going to go see?" I asked after a while, more out of curiosity than concern. How could I really concern myself with worries as to who to trust and who not to, when desperation boggled every thought in my mind? How on Earth was I going to get out of this mess, unless of course, god willing this was what the bigger part of my mind was telling me, the logical part of my mind- a stupid dream and nothing else? Perhaps I bumped my head against the wall or even that painting and now I was suffering the consequences while Mrs Waybrook shouted over my unconscious body, educating the others on why a lady should never wonder around unattended, especially when she was an American.

"Our Dadi, she's our grandmother. She is known for her priestess abilities in Gahana. She knows a lot about legends, magic, prayers and our history but don't worry. She's very kind and helpful. If there's any way of getting you back home, she'll know." I did feel a little better. Priya's confidence in her grandmother was infectious and I allowed it to overwhelm me. The last thing I needed was to lose hope in my only chance out.

The road split into two. One that continued up and another which led downwards. It was impossible to see where the later road was leading to because the land below was smothered in thick layers of fog. The mist trapped the last rays of the sunset, coloring it in a pale orange. We continued forward but everyone else seemed to turn downwards, completely unhindered by the thick fog.

The sky was darkening and I felt the cold air grip onto the back of my neck and my exposed face. Rahul and Priya started moving faster and I quickened my pace to keep up with them. Our surroundings draped in darkness but they continued on, completely oblivious or unafraid of it. Eventually my eyes caught a soft light shining in the distance. We headed straight for it and I realized that it was coming from the inside of a medium sized cottage.

It was very cozy looking. Its rounded walls were made from rocks of different sizes and shapes and several windows stuck out from them. Rahul didn't knock. He opened the unlocked door and held the door open for Priya to go in. I hesitated. What if the people in there were just like him? I tried to convince myself to be stronger but that was hard when memories of my first encounters with Rahul's menacing glare played through in my head.

I heard him clear his throat loudly so as to get my attention. He caught my eyes and nodded his head inwards, telling me to go in. I stumbled through the open doorway.

The cottage was lit in a warm glow that radiated from several large candles that stood in different colored, glass bottles. On the left was a small lounge area, covered in a crimson colored carpet, strung through with gold colored patterns. Facing a small fireplace on the western wall, were two small, comfy looking chairs. The rest of the room was filled with two long, deep soil colored sofas. A tiny kitchen overlooked the lounge, bordered with matching cupboards. In front of it was a dining table with chairs. There were doors on the right side of the cottage and another on the left but they were all closed.

My eyes immediately caught sight of two people facing the fire place. The first was a young guy about twenty years old. He was bulky with large muscular arms and abs. But his tall length complemented his muscular structure. He had soft, blond hair that swept across his forehead, reminding me of a surfer. He had kind gray eyes. His skin was perfectly sun kissed. He stretched his head up when he saw me come in and I noticed a short, deep scar that lined the right side of his neck. It didn't tarnish his good looks, instead it added to it, making him look that more adventurous.

"Hey Rahul. I didn't know we were getting company." His voice boomed. "Welcome. I'm Michael." He nodded at me, smiling widely. His warmth emulated that of Priya's but did little to ease my nerves especially when my eyes fell on the girl sitting on the nearby chair. Her icy glare pierced me with an intensity that could compete with that of Rahul's.

But my eyes couldn't notice her glare for much longer; they swam across her, marveling in her beauty. She had dark, golden skin. Her long, thick black hair flew straight down her back and a thick fringe covered her forehead. She too was about twenty years old. She was wearing a short, yellow blouse and a long skirt that fanned out as she stood up. Her body was well-toned and looked like something straight out from Victoria Secrets' catwalk. Despite her Indian couture she looked very Egyptian. In fact if I didn't know any better I would have said that she was Cleopatra reincarnated.

"Who is this?" She hissed, her voice in perfect harmony with her glacial eyes. She wasn't staring at me anymore. She was staring at Rahul and they both seemed to be thinking the same thing. Talk about treating a guest. I kept quiet and stood right by the door. If things got really ugly, I could make a run for it. Priya didn't seem to mind their reactions. She just continued walking towards one of the rooms on the left side of the house. She opened a door and walked in, leaving me to fend for myself.

"Priya's gone to get Dadi. I'll tell you everything when they return." Rahul stated hardly. He was staring at the room in which Priya disappeared but no one argued with him. Despite his age, his voice radiated with authority and strength and the two elders slipped in to comfortable obedience.

"Hey, don't stand over there. Come on in, you're freezing." Michael moved to grab a blanket from across one of the sofas. He walked towards me and draped it across my surprisingly shivering body. He led me with his strong arm around my back to one of the two long sofas. His touch, despite what I expected, was oddly comforting, a small measure of relief.

"So, what's your name?" He asked, keeping his hand around me as he sat close beside me.

"I-I'm Sarah"

"Err, that's Vanessa over there." He lowered his voice slightly but it was purposefully loud enough for her to still hear him, "Don't worry about her, she can get a bit territorial sometimes." She scowled at him. I moved my eyes up quickly to catch a glimpse of Rahul, for no apparent reason…only to find his aqueaous eyes, still filled with hostility, staring at me.

Fortunately Priya returned with her grandmother at her side. She was a plump woman and had a powerful presence. Her gray hair was tied back into a loose bun. She was wearing what I knew was a sari- a blouse and a long piece of fabric that wrapped around her legs like a skirt and then draped over her one shoulder, concealing her stomach from view. Her large brown eyes were warm and inviting.

"Hello dear." She smiled motherly towards me and I smiled back. She moved to sit on the other side of Michael.

"Rahul, what has happened?" She intrigued. Rahul moved to sit on the edge of the other sofa and rested his elbows on his knees while his fingers interlocked.

"Dadi, this is Sarah. She, um, well she has stolen a royal necklace and has managed to disillusion Priya into thinking that she got it from some museum in another world and it transported her here." His words were rushed, further emphasizing how ridiculous it sounded. Dadi was looking at him but her mind was concentrating on something else. Michael was just staring blankly at Rahul, unsure if he was supposed to laugh at a weird joke or if what Rahul was saying was actually true.

"What?"Michael asked, his eyes mimicked his confusion.

"Priya found Sarah in the palace. She was running straight from the princess' royal chambers. She helped Sarah hide," he looked at Priya disapprovingly but Priya kept her stance. "They ran away and along the way Sarah told Priya what happened to her. Apparently, she was in a museum and obviously decided to put on the necklace of a princess from Gahana and then landed up in the princess' royal chamber." He informed, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Rahul, she's not lying, she even told me that the guard told her that Gahana doesn't exist and she doesn't know anything about this place."

"Well that's a convincing argument. Where the hell does she think she is then?" He moved his eyes to stare at me suspiciously again.

"She didn't lie, Dadi. Sarah's telling the truth. Show them. Show them the necklace, Sarah." Priya demanded.

I immediately pulled of the scarf, to expose the mystical necklace to everyone. Its ocher stone shined brighter in the candle light, making it seem even more ancient. Everyone's eyes clung to it, especially Dadi's. She woke up to stand in front of me and lowered her face so that her eyes were leveled with the necklace. Her fingers reached out to trail the edges of the necklace. They stopped when they reached the inscriptions and her eyes immediately widened with realization.

"Ah, Rahul perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to judge others," she said knowingly, dismissing his brutal astonishment. She stood up and glanced critically at Rahul before turning her head back to me. "'Refa ton eth yor journe aedah'," she recited the words from the necklace fluently. "Perhaps there is a way to help you." She smiled encouragingly back at me before standing up to walk to the only room on the left side of the cabin. She closed the door behind her.

"What's happening?" Michael had the same baffled tone to his voice.

"Dadi thinks she can help get rid of her." Vanessa's words cut through me with its coldness but I remained still, moving my head down to the ground. My eyes fell on my right hand and I immediately ringed it with my left, remembering what had happened earlier. I glanced up to look at Rahul, knowing that his eyes would be one me, not for any other reason than to keep an eye on the thief, like I could even run out any of them. But this time his eyes weren't filled with anger or acidity but…confusion, one that echoed my own. His left hand itched towards his right, no doubt wondering himself what had happened earlier but just as ignorant as I was.

"So it's true… what happened in the museum?" Michael asked me.

"Yes, it is. I know it sounds crazy but it, it just happened." I admitted.

"So now you need to get home."

"Yes." As soon as I answered a strong dosage of homesickness poured into the pit of my stomach. I wanted desperately to be hidden under my bed covers at home. I didn't care if that meant Britain or California. Anywhere would be better than here. In fact anywhere that existed on the map would be better than here. At least then there'd be a chance for me to get out.

This place wasn't supposed to exist. The guard told me so himself and if there was any possibility that it did, he would have found out. From the looks of it he'd been madly researching this place for years. Maybe…maybe I could get out, the same way I got in. My heart sputtered with hope and I shot my head up.

"Um, do you guys have a bathroom?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Sure, err, Priya?" Michael called.

Priya rushed to me and like before, grabbed my hand and took me to a room on the right side of the house.

"Here you go." She opened the door and allowed me to walk in before closing it behind me.

I sighed, glad to finally be alone. I felt nostalgic and was slightly comforted by the familiar sense of privacy. There was a small mirror facing me. It was rectangular and hung over the basin. I walked slowly over, watching my nervous expression in the screen. The necklace's beauty became tarnished in my thoughts. I hated it. I hated my impulsiveness to put it on.

Why did I have to choose this to be the first …second spontaneous thing I do in my life? The first time didn't work out and yet I still allowed myself to do something so ridiculous. Then my rage diverted to the museum. Why did they barely have any protection on this thing? It's like they were begging for someone to steal it and I had to be the dim-wit.

I stared at the mirror and read the inscribed phrase, directly from the mirror like before. I closed my eyes tightly, silently praying that I would wake up in the museum. Praying that the guards would be there when I got back, shouting at me and retrieving the necklace. Praying that Mrs. Waybrooke will screech at me with her high-pitched voice and send me back home. Praying that my mother would pick me up at the airport and shout at me while we drove home. I didn't care what happened as long as I was back home.

I opened my reluctant eyes. My heart immediately plummeted. I was still in the bathroom, staring disappointingly back at my reflection in the mirror.

The rage that had blasted through me diffused and sadness replaced it. I felt so helpless. Moisture filled up my eyes despite my attempts to stop them. Soft tears brimmed over my lower eye lids, sliding down my cheeks. I didn't wipe them. I just watched them fall, allowing the sense of powerlessness to overwhelm me. Any hope that may have floated in me somewhere, drowned.

Even if Dadi said that she could help me, I doubted that there really was anyway of sorting this thing out. I stayed in the bathroom for longer, using my several minutes of privacy to cry as much as I could before I had to return to the room and be beaten by Vanessa and Rahul's cruelty and the inevitable sentence that awaited me. I took a dry towel from a little table on the side and pushed it against my mouth, muffling any cries and moans that escaped my mouth so that no one outside could hear me.

I had a weird sense of déjà vu. This scene was too familiar to me and I realized from where it came from. My stomach twisted painfully together and I pushed that thought out from my mind. I slouched down onto the floor and rested my head against the wall as the pain and memories from that day slowly left me. I tried to breathe deeply and counted to ten. It had worked before and I was glad that it was working now.

My silence was shattered at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Sarah. Sarah, are you okay?" It was Priya. I could hear the worry in her voice. No wonder her brother thought she was too trusting, she didn't even know me for a day and she was already worrying about me.

"Yeah, I'm just coming out." I quickly wiped my face dry with the towel then placed it back on the table. When I opened the door everyone's eyes were on me. Vanessa was still staring menacingly at me but everyone else's were compassionate, well at least everyone who was in the room. Rahul was no longer leaning against the nearby wall. I immediately looked down, blushing. My attempts at hiding my break down were not successful.

I moved to take my seat on the sofa. Michael had moved over by the fireplace and was eating a roasted stick of corn. I looked up and saw that everyone else had similar ones in their hand. Priya was nibbling chipmunk-like on hers. She was sitting by Vanessa now. My eyes followed the sweet scent, dropping on Rahul's brooding figure in the center of the kitchen. His hard eyes caught mine sharply, flicking just as quickly to the plate on the table filled with corn sticks. He grabbed two.

"Here." He offered it to me.

"No thanks, I'm not that hungry." I whispered. My voice had grown hoarse from the crying. He moved back to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. This time he knelt down in front of me, so that I could see his face properly.

"Drink this." I obeyed him and gulped down the water, enjoying how the icy liquid coated my throat on the way down.

"And eat this." He ordered sternly.

"No rea…" I started to complain.

"You really should eat something. Thief or not, I'd rather not…" He broke off, looking behind me. His frowning eyebrows deepened slightly before he strained them up. His lips cracked upwards into what one might describe as a smile and he shook his head slightly. "Just eat this…_please_." His voice tremored with the effect he was inflicting in it to be pleasant and I could tell from his darting eyes that Michael was probably behind me, begging him to be…polite. Which seemed to be harder said than done in his case, especially since I could still see that blatant suspicion and dislike burn in the cool orbs of his eyes.

He handed me the corn, without even waiting for my answer. I would have described it as shoved it into my hand, if it wasn't for the fact that he took extra care to ensure that his hand didn't touch mine, that there was no possible chance of a replay of what occurred earlier…if what happened, really did happen.

Now that his task was fulfilled, even if it was done with reluctance, Rahul rose swiftly and retreated back to leaning against the wall. His solid eyebrows hid his brooding eyes as he stared pensively at the bleak ground. His lips receeded back into its firm line, no longer willing to oblige Michael's wishes. I looked down at my warm cob of corn, taking a shallow bite before chewing it slowly, hesistantly.

It tasted sweet, slightly moist but most of all it tasted just like corn should taste. Huh! Any hope that this was a stupid nightmare or damn stupor was slowly leaving me. Who could ever taste something in a dream, well at least I never have. And if indeed you could, surely it couldn't taste so, so…_real_.

The grumpy sound of a heavy door being pushed open echoed through the silent room, capturing everyone's attention. Priya's grandmother emerged, gracefully slow, her footsteps stepping softly on the wooden floor but I sensed rather than saw everyone's eyes draw to the object in her eyes, waiting…

Chapter 3

"Did you find anything?" Priya asked hopefully. She ran quickly to her grandmother's side to examine the book before Dadi could answer her. Dadi continued to walk forward until she was sitting in between Rahul and me. She opened the book but still hadn't said anything. Her silence was becoming toxic and I could feel the sense of security that had occupied me before, leave only to be replaced by a familiar feeling of fear and anxiety.

Micheal and Vanessa both strolled towards us, until they were hovering over Dadi's shoulders, casting shadows over Rahul and me. She stopped turning the pages and my eyes immediately flickered to her aged face.

"Vaha sundara eka" She turned to look at me with those knowing eyes. I would have thought I was far beyond the ability to be shocked, my mind had already been tortured and perplexed into the extreme of being swept off into another world and possibly dimension, but when she said those words something in them shocked me. It wasn't because I knew what it meant because I didn't. What scared me was the fact that it sounded familiar…too familiar.

"The fair one" She continued. Her voice had grown eerie, casting her words into a mystical tone. I stared at her as she told us one of the ancient legends or possible truths from India's past.

"The necklace of _jadu _or _daiva yoga _was given to Princess Rani by the Goddess Laxmi on the eve of her coronation, right?" She turned questioningly to me but I had the feeling she already knew that she was correct.

"What necklace?"

"The necklace of _jadu_, meaning magic or _daiva yoga_, luck."

"Yeah, she's the one. That was the night she disappeared with her sister as well." I recited the words from the museum guard. I didn't know where she was really going with this but I entertained her, allowing her to continue telling the others the story that had once been captivating. Now it was just plain annoying. I should never have been there to listen to it in the first place.

"Well, actually that's not entirely true."

"What?"

"Her sister, Savitri, was involved in Rani's disappearance, yes, but not in the way you think. Savitri, like most sisters, envied her older sister. She was never allowed to fully enjoy the pleasures and fortunes that Rani's beauty and kindness graced her with. Rani was well known and very talented. She had a presence that commanded the respect and awe of everyone else which is why when she went missing, very few; in fact I doubt anyone would have realized that it was Savitri who drove her out in fear. Savitri was invisible next to her sister and even their father barely noticed her. Everyone that is except for the royal priest. Rani would spend a lot of time with him, always fascinated by the wonders of magic and Hinduism. So he naturally took great care of her, always watching to ensure she was safe. Savitri had a very sly and strategic mind. She knew that if Rani died, she would be the next one to take over the throne. She would finally be given the power and control, she believed she deserved.

While Rani planned her glorious wedding to Raja, or her coronation, Savitri thought of ways to destroy her. She silently plotted ways to make Rani fall to her demise, thinking that this would drive Rani to step down from the throne, if not kill herself. Savitri was vindictive but not murderous…at least that's what she thought. But one person noticed her change.

The priest was good friends with the king and with Rani and naturally spent a lot of time around the royal chambers. He was very observant in comparison to the others and had always noticed this darker side to Savitri. He noticed when she went out of her way to fracture the relationship between Rani and Raja. She'd poison Rani's ears with terrifying rumors of his behavior with his lady's maids and his crude treatment of those inferior to him. Rani was naïve and believed her sister. She fought with the prince and didn't believe his defenses. The priest tried to aid in the mending of their relationship but Rani was not easy to persuade. As soon as he realized that Savitri was the one who told her those things, he immediately realized what she was trying to do and paid closer attention to her actions."

"Wait, what does this have to do with the necklace?" Rahul asked. His voice was colored in irritation and I could tell that he too was growing impatient. But Dadi just looked back at him. Her face was rich in patience and knowledge.

"He eventually figured out what she was doing but his attempts to stop her failed. On the night of the coronation, she grew desperate. Despite her efforts to infringe Rani's success, her sister was still going to become queen and get married to a profound prince. When Rani got the necklace from Laxmi, Savitri was instigated. That night she attacked her sister but somehow she failed. We're not sure how but Rani managed to escape her claws. She ran away into the night, too afraid to come back for some reason."

"But then what happened to Savitri, the guard told me that she'd disappeared as well?" Her version of the story was just as enrapturing as the guards and I found myself yet again lost in it. I realized that I had been unconsciously leaning in towards her, just like I had done before with the guard. I had to stop doing that.

"Well, the priest already knew about her plan and he could have told others about her. But that's not why she left, at least that's not what I think. Many say she followed after Rani and they both died. Others say that she realized later that the necklace from Laxmi was very valuable, offering its possessor power and magic. She might have gone after her for that but honestly I don't know what happened to her." Her words twirled through the air, scenting it with an ominous fragrance. Everyone stared at her.

"W-what does this have to do with me? How am I supposed to get back home?" Reality was dawning on me and I realized that despite Dadi revealing that the story was even more intricate than I expected, I still hadn't found any way to get back home. She looked back anxiously at me. It didn't look right on her face and I was almost certain it that it was not an emotion that played frequently in her.

"Vaha sundara eka"

"The fair one." My voice was growing frustrated. Why was this woman harping on this stupid story and 'the fair one'. I thought that she was the knowledgeable one but now I realized that she had been spending too many years with her nose stuck in these books.

"Yes. Legend has it that, 'the fair one', would return someday to restore peace to Rani's soul. The necklace stayed with Rani till the day she died and would also be the one to choose 'the fair one'. "

"What?" Her words were befuddling my mind. I tried hard to concentrate but I struggled with her legend rich language and irrational ideas.

"You said that the necklace landed in your world."

"Yes." I agreed, hoping that she was going to explain her weird sentiments.

"Well if it did, that must mean that Rani found a way to escape Gahana. I'm not sure how she did it but I'm sure that that necklace is going to help us find the way out. That's the only way I can see for you to leave."

"What? Wa-wait you're telling me that in order to get out I need _this_!" I was tugging madly at the trouble causing necklace. These people were insane. Dadi just kept looking at me. I turned to stare at everyone else, hoping no praying that I wasn't the only one who thought she was crazy. But their faces emulated hers. Well except for Rahul. He had moved silently to the kitchen. I had to state the obvious.

"That's ridiculous! There must be another way out. Um…" I rattled my brain furiously, searching desperately for some chink in this tangled chain.

"Priya, didn't you say it's 2009."

"Yes." She agreed, covering her face with the same expression she had when I'd ask her the same question before.

"Well that means that this place exists. I mean it exists in the real world, maybe we just don't know about it yet." I realized that I was still including myself as part of the 'we' that wasn't trapped in this supposedly lost world. "Maybe I can just call someone, like the cops or someone. Or maybe we can get a radio signal out or…." I trailed off; trying to remember all the survival movies I'd watched before. Anything that could give me a solution to this, this…problem.

"Good luck with that." Micheal's husky voice interrupted my thoughts.

"What?"

"Don't you think we've been trying to do that for the past what…"

"Two years ." Rahul interjected. He was standing unusually quiet at the edge of the kitchen, watching me feebly try to find a solution.

"I don't get it." I was staring questioningly at Rahul. Despite his coldness and blatant dislike for me, he seemed to be the only other one with any sense of rationality.

"Gahana has been technologically and communicatively ostracized from the rest of the world. We've been trying to patch things up but… no luck yet. I suppose it doesn't help that our kings had chosen to keep our little existence a secret for so many years. Now the only way out is blocked. Yes, we have tried to find other ways but well that hasn't worked too well either." His words made sense, too much sense.

I stumbled to sit on the sofa and placed my head between my knees. Breathing deeply I focused on any other solutions my mind might have hidden from me but after several minutes I realized I was not that fortunate. I could hear them mutter softly amongst themselves, probably wondering what they were going to do with me. But I pretended not to notice.

The reality of it all was that I was stuck in this place and despite the unconventional way I'd entered it, I was still here. But I couldn't stay _here_ much longer. It was pretty obvious that these guys were less than competent to help me. Besides, I didn't really feel welcomed anyway. Perhaps the king could do something for me…but then again who'd believe my absurd claim and above that who'd believe that this necklace actually belonged to me, that I hadn't stolen it. I needed a way out.

"Sarah." His voice was oddly devoid of all hostility. I looked up and saw him perched on the edge of the sofa next to his whispering family, who huddled against the wall. He was holding another glass of water out to me. Was this their idea of whiskey? I reached out anyway, moving my fingers to grab the glass. But as my helpless fingers stretched out I felt a gripping force tug on my back, pulling me away. My eyes were wide open but the surroundings grew dimmer, blotching with patches of darkness until all I could see was a large pall of black.

I didn't resist the force. I welcomed it. Somewhere in me I had a feeling that it was taking me back home, that all of this was a crazy dream and I was finally waking up. But when I opened my eyes, I found myself deep in a moist jungle. The leaves were glinting with fresh droplets of water. The cool air cloaked my skin and the rich smell of soil filled my nose. The sky was veiled in an inky black sheet, beaded generously with sparkling stars.

Hanging overhead was a large, full moon. It cast the jungle in an eerie silvery glow, making everything visible to the human eye. The surroundings were silent, not even a bird filled the night with its blissful cry. It was a peaceful environment, calming. There was nothing sinister about it in the slightest way but for some reason I felt this strong fear overwhelm me. Having felt a high degree of fear in the past couple of hours, I was surprised at how wrong it felt, like it didn't belong to me.

My body kept moving ahead of me, as if _it_ was controlling _me_. My legs ambled forward into the darkness and my eyes kept running across the jungle searching for something. My fingers trembled violently at the ends of my clammy hands and my dark hair cloaked the sides of my face…DARK HAIR.

I caught a sight of my hair again as my head swiveled to the right. My hair was, my hair was _black_ and long, _very long_. I would have assumed it was just the night that made my dark brown hair look like that, had it not been for that fact that everything was alit in the sharp moonlight. The wind threw the hair across my face and I caught the strong smell of jasmine. My hair always smelt like berries. Mostly because that's my mum's favorite and she kept buying it for me. I would never complain, it's just hair but at least it was just my hair.

My shaking hands moved to retrieve something from the bag that hung loosely over my right shoulder. It was a map. I unrolled the parchment and angled it so that the moonlight shone brightly against it. My finger kept tracing the same path. I kept moving my eyes from the map to the surroundings in front of us. The fear strengthened, followed by a sense of helplessness. I caught a sight of my hands. They were never that tanned. I had a pale skin tone made possible by all my days in a British Boarding school and the preference of a good book over a day out playing tennis.

But the hands that we clutching the map had a pale golden-like color, much like Rahul, accept lighter. Her nails were stained in a dark red pigment. I looked closer at the rest of the hand. They were all intricately designed in scarlet patterns. I would have thought it was beautiful, if it wasn't on hands that were supposed to be mine but weren't.

My eyes caught sight of something lower, as my legs crawled forward. It was a beautiful green and yellow-gold colored skirt. It fanned out as my legs kicked through it to walk, allowing me to see the beautiful patterns which adorned it. All around the edges it was lined with a thick, layer of glittering gold beads. Draped across my chest and one shoulder was a silky, almost transparent green fabric. The cold air grasped at the sides of my belly.

My head moved down to look back at the map, allowing me to investigate the rest of my attire. I was wearing a short blouse that really only covered my breasts. It was cherry colored and was also laboriously adorned with beading. I recognized it immediately. It was a sari, very similar to that of Dadi's but this was a lot more extravagant. What was I doing wearing a sari?

My conundrum was broken by a sudden sensation of relief that washed over me. I opened my eyes or rather focused my eyes that were already open, to see what had caused the abrupt change. My feet sauntered forward into the night. I could feel my lips pull up into a strong smile. The hands clutched the sides of the skirt, pulling it up higher so that my feet could move freely.

The large leaves of the jungle parted as I moved, exposing the object that I realized I'd been looking desperately for. The small building was made from large, blocks of silvery gray stone. The moonlight enhanced its color, making it seem even more mysterious and scary. Heedless of my deep desire to run away, my body kept moving forward.

The building consisted of layers that kept getting wider, so that it looked like it was fanning out. The tops of each segment were capped in elaborately carved and designed, triangular roofs that increased in height as the segments got bigger. Leading to the entrance was a long flight of stairs. My feet moved to walk on them.

The entrance was an arched gap in the wall. When I finally reached it, I saw that it led to a long pathway into darkness. The walls that lined this pathway were filled with apertures, held up by short pillars. The moonlight fell through them, onto the stoned floor. It too was a silvery gray color. The floor was immaculate. Not a single crack, nor a single leaf tarnished its surface. My bare feet moved over it effortlessly. I realized that my feet echoed the color of the hands. It too was embellished in red designs.

As I passed by the pillars something else hit me. I was much taller. The body was about 1'6'' but I was only about 1'5''. Surely this couldn't be possible. Surely I couldn't have grown a whole inch in a few seconds. Surely I couldn't have darkened so quickly when my frail attempts to do so during the holidays were never successful. And I know for a fact that I hadn't dyed my hair.

I reached the end of the pathway. My body immediately bent forward, to touch the ground religiously with my hands. I then woke up and my hands stretched up to hit the large bell that was hanging above me. The sharp chiming cut through the silent room in front of me and I waited for something, I wasn't sure for what but I stood the doorway silently waiting.

Suddenly a stream of fluorescent, sky blue fluid poured out from the wall directly in front of me. It fell through into a shallow trench that ran through the centre of the hall. As the liquid flowed through like a stream, the room before me became alit in a bright, blue glow.

It was a temple. At the front, commanding my eyes, were three large statues, carved diligently out of a blue-green stone. I ambled slowly forward. My body was no more filled with fear. Replacing it was a blissful feeling of security. I moved my head to watch the stream of light.

Who is that? Staring at me, smiling jubilantly was, was…princess RANI! She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that I was somehow trapped in her body. All she did was smile back at me, exposing her perfect teeth. What in the hell was happening _now_? I thought being trapped in Gahana was the worst thing imaginable but I was wrong. How on earth could I be in the body of someone else? That too, in the body of someone who's been dead for four hundred years!

My mind was filled with questions, confusion, panic but the rest of me thrilled with an unwelcomed happiness. I needed to get out of her. I focused back on Gahana. I tried desperately to try and get back to Rahul and them. I didn't care that it wasn't home at least there I was still me.

When she reached the end of the hall, she placed her two hands together and held them up high to the gods. She then bent down and…

Something strong grabbed me around the waist and thrust me backwards. I prayed this was the same force that had brought me here but this time it was stronger and it felt worse. Its hold arched around my stomach. My hair whipped against my cheeks and my mouth opened wide to scream but my voice was stolen. The air around me stung my body with its coldness but refused to entire my starving lungs. I gasped, trying desperately to take in some air but nothing would come in. I searched fervently for someone to help me but everything darkened. The force pulled me downwards and my stomach lunged.

I gasped again and this time warm air rushed in to satisfy me. My eyes opened very slowly; a force that bad couldn't mean bring good news could it. But when I opened my eyes, I was lying on one of the long sofa's in Dadi's house. Rahul, Priya, Dadi and Michael were all hovering anxiously over me.

"W-what happened?" I stammered. My voice was barely a whisper but Rahul answered me with his facial expression. He was bewildered, the rest of them seemed relieved that I had woken up but he just seemed confused.

"What happened?" Priya chirped quickly. She moved to sit next to me, on the edge of the sofa.

"I, I don't know. It was all so vague. It was like I was in her body… but I was still me. I mean I could hear myself thinking but my body was hers and it moved against my will. And then she…"

"Who is she?" Michael interrupted loudly. He was leaning in closer to me, obviously exhilarated by this mystery.

"Um, Rani, Princess Rani. I recognized her reflection. It looked just like the painting from the museum." I said absently, my mind still strongly attached to what I'd just seen.

"So you were in her?" Dadi's asked. Her voice was filled with concentration and so was her face. She seemed to be the only one amongst us who was starting to put this thing together.

"Yes. She was looking for this place. A temple. She had a map and it felt like she'd been travelling a while but she was wearing a sari and she had red patterns on her hand. It reminds me of the art pieces I used to see of Indian brides."

"A temple?"

"Yeah. She entered this building and as soon as she rang the bell the whole place lit up with this, um, bluish liquid. There were three statues of gods but I can't recognize them from anywhere." I kept quiet, trying to replay the experience in my head.

"The temple of THE THREE DEITIES. That used be a well known and well visited temple back in those days. People believed that it was so rich with faith, that the gods themselves visited their devotees. But no one has been there for ages. I'm not even sure that it still exists."

"So she went there to get help from God?" I was still puzzled. I mean sure God could help you with life's problems but seriously, to go to a temple when your murderous sister was running after you, just seemed stupid. But she ignored my question.

"Mmmm. And how did you feel when you go the vision?"

"Vision?" I'd watched enough movies to know that visions were usually predictions of the future. Rani has been dead for many years, that couldn't have been a vision.

"Yes. You probably had a vision of one of the important experiences in Rani's life."

"But why? How?"

"I think that necklace has created some bond between her spirit and you. And why? Well, perhaps it's telling us something. I did tell you that the only way out that I can think of for you to get back home is through the necklace." I nodded but I was losing patience. Where was she going was this?

"Well, maybe…" She moved from behind the sofa to stand in front of me. Her eyes were marveling the necklace around my neck as if it was a fascinating species.

"Maybe the necklace itself is a map."

"What?" Michael words voiced my very thoughts.

"You said that she was dressed like a bride. Well that could mean that that was the same night that she fled the kingdom. It was her wedding in four days so the henna markings on her hand could have been for that. And she probably didn't change. She fled as soon as she could, so that's why she was dressed like that." She moved to sit on the other sofa but her eyes didn't leave the necklace.

"If you got a vision of the first destination she reached during her flee, than perhaps you'll get visions of the other destinations she reaches. So it only stands to reason that if you follow the same path she did, you should reach the same way out." Her ideas were a little irrational but I didn't care. Her words, "way out" played musically in my ears. Finally the hope that I so badly desired returned and I held on tightly to it.

"What, what do I have to do? Must I follow it then, right? How do I get there, to that temple? She had a map, I'm sure I can remember the path. Do you have a map? How soon can I leave?" My words rushed out with excitement. I knew the journey was probably long but I didn't care. All I could think about was being back in my mother's arms.

No one else seemed to be as thrilled as I was. Well everyone except for Vanessa. I realized that she had moved from sitting miserably by the fireplace to stand up, not bothering to hide the eager grin that spread across her lips.

"Sarah you can't go on your own?" Dadi said motherly. She was looking at me as if it should have been obvious that she wouldn't let me go alone.

"What?"

"You don't expect us to let you go alone, do ya? What about me?" Michael was smiling broadly at me His voice and eyes were blazing with excitement. It was clear that someone felt coped up in this small town for far too long.

"No, no, no, no." Rahul had moved to stand in front of me but he was looking at Michael. His face was hard and filled with authority but I could see that his eyes held concern. "You're not going with _her_. This is her problem; we don't need to get involved."

"Are you proposing that we let her wander off alone?" Michael retorted.

"Yes."

"Rahul, don't be stupid, something could happen to her!" Michael shouted in disbelief. Rahul's voice turned venomous.

"I don't care what happens to her. She intruded our lives remember!" A mixture of anger and hurt flooded me but several seconds of watching the egocentric guy before me and the anger strengthened, overwhelming my hurt. I hadn't asked them to help me and yet he was blatantly refusing to right in front of my eyes.

"Who said I wanted you to come along with me?" My voice overpowered theirs and they both stopped arguing to stare at me.

"What?' Rahul's asked. His face was layered with astonishment, taken aback after I'd been so quiet the entire night.

"I didn't ask for you to come with me. I'm grateful for your help, well your grandmothers but I can go on from here on my own. So please don't argue over _not_ helping me because I didn't ask you to!" His mouth stood ajar, wanting to say something but he couldn't. He just stared at me. I quickly bent down to grab my back pack then headed for the door.

"Oh, wait. Um, do you have a map that I could use?" I asked Dadi, remembering and feeling slightly embarrassed now that my dramatic exit was spoilt. She was also shocked by my outburst but weirdly enough I found her smiling as her eyes swam from Rahul to me and back again.

"Um, the map?" I tried to refocus her attention.

"Ah, yes dear, we do but I think you're going to need an older map. Priya, would you help me?" Priya rushed over to help her grandmother get up. Before walking to the room at the left of the cabin, she whispered something into her granddaughter's ears. Priya's eyes widened with happiness and she turned to glance at me with a huge smile on her face, while she waited for her grandmother to go into the room. When the door closed, she ran over to where her quiet brother and the others stood, speaking softly to all three of them.

"What? No. You heard her, she wants to go alone." Rahul barked after listening to her proposal.

"Rahul, Dadi knows it's a bad idea for her to go alone. Besides you're the best at tracking and reading a map," Michael responded.

"Michael, don't act like the reason you want us to go is just to help her!" Rahul snapped.

"Okay, fine. I'm sick and tired of this place Rahul. I need to get out. I don't care if this trip leads us out of Gahana or not. I just want to see what's beyond that wall. And if it means helping out someone in need, well hey that's great. Come on man, you know me!"

"Bhayia, we need to help her. I want to go. She's my friend and you told me yourself that you should never let down a friend." Priya's youthful voice contrasted with theirs and they all turned to look at her.

"Priya, you barely know her!" Rahul criticized, his voice smothered in frustration.

"So? I'm going with Michael and you can't stop us." Rahul kept quiet. He was looking at the ground, his mind concentrating hard on a solution. I could see in his eyes that he seemed torn. On one hand he wanted to make his family happy but on the other he didn't want them to go off on this foolish journey for a girl he clearly disliked.

After several minutes he picked his head up, his expression was resigned.

"Fine. We'll go." Michael and Priya burst out with joy filled glees. Rahul still didn't look at me. Instead he moved over to the corner of the room where Vanessa was standing sadly, the only one apparently who seemed to share his emotions at the moment. He turned her around to face him and spoke softly to her. His hands were rubbing her shoulders comfortingly and his eyes were warm.

I couldn't deny that what I felt as I watched them was…jealousy. Not because I liked the guy, such a notion couldn't be any more repulsive but because they both seemed to have someone else to comfort them, someone who the other found serenity in. And I was all alone.

I had to prepare myself to go on a journey which in realistic terms was utterly stupid but I had no other choice. And besides it's not like my entrance into this world was realistically possible any way. I moved to sit next to Priya on the couch. I took my bag off and left it on the floor. Priya was yawning widely and had crouched up on her side to sleep.

Dadi returned from the room smiling. I had the feeling that she had been purposefully taking her time, waiting for the arguments to end. In her hand was a tattered scroll. She moved over to the sit at the dining table. She opened the scroll and spread it across the table, inviting everyone to join her.

When I sat in the seat next to her, I realized that it was a map. But more than that, it was an exact replica of the map I saw in my _vision, _(I couldn't help but feel weird even thinking about having a vision). The map was painted by hand in varying colors. It was similar to any other map except it included images of the main places as well as various other winding paths, (that were not part of the main roads or jungle trails that led to a certain destination), without any names for the path or any scale to tell you how far it was. Stamped in deep blue at the bottom, left corner was a compass sign. I'd never been that good at reading maps. In fact map work was the main reason I chose not to take up Geography, so the odd scene in front of me was mildly daunting and I found myself grateful that he did agree to come along.

Rahul was muttering softly to Dadi, while he studied the map. He traced his fingers over different roads and jungle trails to a little triangular building. I leant in closer to get a better look. It was colored in two distinctive shades. The eastern side of it was a bright, gold color and the other side was a familiar silver-gray. It was the temple I'd seen but I couldn't understand why it was gold on one side. I absentmindedly moved my finger onto the map, tracing the same path that Rani had. I realized as I focused on my moving fingers that it didn't follow any of the conventional ways. Instead it followed several unnamed pathways but it still led to the temple.

I could no longer hear Rahul and Dadi discussing. I picked up my head slowly and found them staring weirdly at me.

"What?"

"What is that?" Dadi asked, intrigued.

"Um, that's just the path that she took. I saw it in the, err…"

"Vision?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I think that's the best path to take then Rahul."

"What? Those paths don't have any names. How am I supposed to find them, no one knows about them." Rahul asked incredulously.

"Then use a compass, dear."

"Dadi!"

"Rahul, you know that you can do it, you just don't want to." Her tone was filled with motherly disapproval. She moved her head to look at Priya, sleeping silently on the sofa. "I think that will be all for tonight. Sarah, you can sleep with Priya in her room. Good night." Her simple words, although lacking the dramatic arguings of Michael's was strong enough to leave Rahul resigned yet again. A family leader, forced into a path purely because of democracy but something told me that Rahul wasn't used to such defiance from his family members.

Michael and Vanessa had already left to go to bed and Dadi escaped too quickly to hers, leaving Rahul, me and a sleeping Priya alone together. I moved to get my back pack from the sofa. Rahul was already there, picking up Priya into his arms. He carried her into the middle room on the right side of the cabin. I followed him silently.

He placed her carefully on the right side of the bed and covered her generously with the beige blanket that rested at the foot of the bed. I moved to the other side of the door, waiting for him to leave. I cowardly stared at the ground, so that I wouldn't have to meet his malicious eyes.

I heard his footsteps grow louder as he moved closer to the door and finally soften when he was out. When he left, I picked up my head. The small room only occupied a large bed in the center, a tall mirror by the eastern wall and wooden closet next to it. I placed my bag on the floor, nearby the mirror. As soon as I caught sight of my face in the mirror, I was reminded of the same emotions that ruled me in the bathroom earlier. I moved to close the door.

I didn't feel like stopping myself from crying and with Priya sleeping I could at least allow myself to cry to sleep one last time before this journey- a journey that was already threatening to be a grim one. As I swept the door across, I saw Rahul staring at the map on the table. He was still trying to find a better way to reach there. Well, I had to give it to the guy, he was definitely persistent. Just before the door closed, his eyes caught mine and I immediately looked away, praying that there were no tears on my face already. But when my hands moved to my cheeks, I felt moisture. Damn it. Well at least on the bright side there was no sympathy in his eyes, whoever told people that feeling bad for others was a good thing obviously didn't bother asking that person how they felt. If there was anything that made you feel worst, it was pity, it only aided in strengthing your sorrows.

I tiptoed to the bed and rested on the left side of the bed. After I cried as quietly as I could manage, I allowed the fatigue from the day's events to take over me. Praying that tomorrow would bring good news.


End file.
